In Pursuit of SilencePatrick Shen

We are constantly - voluntarily or not - surrounded by sound. Silence is an increasingly rare commodity, maybe even something from a bygone era. A contemplative film about the meaning and effect of (lack of) silence on the contemporary human.

In 1952, avant-garde composer John Cage wrote the piece 4'33 ''. The pianist does not touch his piano. A cough or the shuffling feet of the audience are the only audible sounds. It is one of the many expressions of the impact of the silence. But is there such a thing as pure silence? Why do we look for it? Or, conversely, why do we seem to run away from it?

In a trip around the world we discover the secret nature of silence - from the silence in the remote American wilderness and the silence in Japanese Zen monasteries to the hallucinatory absence of silence in contemporary cities, where unhealthy noise pollution causes aggression and stress. Indeed, there is no aspect of human existence that sound and his counterpart silence do not affect. "In Pursuit of Silence” is a cinematic listening experience, paradoxically a surprisingly musical film that makes you prick up your ears and gives you time to reflect on silence.

The exhibition of May 5 will be followed by a DOCVILLE+session 'The importance of silence in a world that's getting louder every day?' This debate is freely accessible. 
(more info here) 



Society Ecology Less is more

Vertoond op editie(s) 2016
Screened at edition(s) 2016

Info

Directed by Patrick Shen
US
81 min.
English
Subtitles: Dutch

Programme

Festival favorites*

credits
Director

Patrick Shen

Producer

Patrick Shen, Andrew Brumme, Brandon Vedder

Production company

Transcendental Media

Cinematography

Patrick Shen, Brandon Vedder

Editing

Patrick Shen

Music

Alex Lu

Contact info
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(beschikbaar vanaf 20.03)